A Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos has ordered four suspects standing trial over the April 2026 killings in Angwa Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area, to remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) pending the conclusion of investigations.

At the resumed hearing, the State Attorney General, Philemon Audu Daffi, informed the court that the prosecution had filed a Case Management Conference (CMC) alongside the charge, urging Justice Danladi Longden to grant a date for the conference while also seeking the continued remand of the defendants in DSS custody.

Daffi told the court that the DSS required adequate time to complete its investigation, noting that one of the principal suspects in the case was still at large.

“The secret police need sufficient time to conclude its investigation, particularly as one of the principal suspects is still at large,” he said.

However, lead defence counsel, Mustapha Shabbat Ibrahim, SAN, did not oppose the fixing of a date for the CMC but objected to the continued detention of his clients in DSS custody, arguing that it could affect access to legal representation.

“I am not opposed to picking a date for the CMC, but I oppose the continued detention of my clients in DSS custody as I may not have access to them,” he told the court.

Responding, the Attorney General countered the claim, stating that in his 37 years of legal practice, he had never witnessed the DSS deny lawyers access to their clients.

“In my 37 years of practice, I have yet to encounter an occasion where the DSS blocked lawyers from accessing clients in their detention facility,” Daffi said.

After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Longden adjourned the matter to 8 May 2026 for the Case Management Conference and ordered that the four defendants remain in DSS custody.

The Plateau State Government had arraigned the suspects a week earlier following their arrest in connection with the Angwa Rukuba killings.

President Bola Tinubu, who visited Jos earlier in the month, had assured residents of justice for the victims and recently approved a N2 billion relief package for affected communities.

The accused persons — Isa Umar Ibrahim, Auwalu Abubakar (also known as Auwalu Dogo), Musa Abubakar Ibrahim (also known as Yaroro), and Adamu Isa Alhassan — are facing multiple charges ranging from criminal conspiracy to terrorism, culpable homicide, illegal possession of firearms, and illegal arms trafficking.

According to the charge sheet, the offences are “contrary to Section 269 and punishable under Section 270 of the Penal Code Law of Plateau State, 2017.”

The prosecution alleged that the defendants, alongside others now at large, conspired and financed the attack on March 28, 2025, in Farin Gada, Jos North LGA, which resulted in the killing of more than 30 persons in Angwa Rukuba.

Part of the charge read: “That you… did conspire amongst yourselves to commit offences relating to terrorism when you planned, organized, facilitated, aided, and contributed money to carry out the attack in Angwan Rukuba… which led to the death of over thirty (30) people.”

For Adamu Isa Alhassan, the charges include culpable homicide punishable with death, with allegations that he and others between January 2025 and January 2026 carried out armed attacks on communities in Riyom and Jos South LGAs, killing residents in multiple villages.

The March 2025 violence in Plateau State, which left no fewer than 30 people dead including children, sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for cancellation of the “Experience Plateau, Arts Meets Fashion” event.

However, Governor Caleb Mutfwang rejected the calls, insisting that the state would not be intimidated into paralysis.

“Many advised that we suspend this function, but we realized that these attackers intend to keep us in perpetual mourning, to force us indoors, and to shackle our collective spirit,” the governor said.

“But I said no! Life must go on. Plateau must move forward by the grace of God. The genocide on the Plateau will come to an end. What is happening is not a farmer-herder conflict. Let me be clear: it is genocide, and I urge the international community to take note,” Mutfwang added.

During his visit, President Tinubu met victims of the attacks, inspected damaged communities, and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to justice and peace, while also urging Nigerians to embrace unity and coexistence.